


Pirate King

by starlightaegi



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pirate, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Inspired by Pirates of the Caribbean, Inspired by the Little Mermaid, Little Mermaid Elements, M/M, Mermaid Byun Baekhyun, Mermaids, Pirate Park Chanyeol, Pirates, baekhyun and jungkook are best friends, chanyeol is a meanie head
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-08
Updated: 2020-01-17
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:13:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21722788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starlightaegi/pseuds/starlightaegi
Summary: "How can you be so cruel? I thought humans were somewhat decent."It only takes one time. Being a mermaid according to Baekhyun, was too boring. He always wanted to see the outside, and he did at the age of ten. He saved a human too, but he didn't know that the human would become the king of the pirates.
Relationships: Byun Baekhyun/Jeon Jungkook, Byun Baekhyun/Park Chanyeol, Do Kyungsoo | D.O/Kim Jongin | Kai, Kim Taehyung | V/Min Yoongi | Suga
Comments: 22
Kudos: 39





	1. prologue

**Author's Note:**

> my first chanbaek story!! I'm so excited to get this story on a role. I think this is a pretty cool idea if you ask me.

Exploring the ocean has always been something Baekhyun enjoyed as of recently. He also began collecting things that have been in sunken ships. The things he would find had to be hidden away because his parents, especially his mother, hated the human world. He was only the age of ten and couldn't understand why they hated a place that created such wonderful things.

He was in his cave, placing things he found on his last trip to a sunken ship. Jeongguk was in there with him, trying to read a book that Baekhyun found awhile ago. He has gotten better because his best friend teaches him wherever they come to the cave.

"Hey, Baek, what is a c-count-ry?" Jeongguk asked, flipping the book upside down, confused on how to say the word. They did learn English, but Baekhyun was a very fast learner and decided to help his friend excel as well. "Coun-try?"

"It's country, gukkie." Baekhyun softly laughed and swam up to where the other mermaid was sitting. He was looking at an atlas that was lost on a sunken ship not long ago. They go on adventures together, but Jeongguk was a little more reluctant to go explore abandoned ships.

"What does it do?"

It doesn't do anything, silly! It has humans on it. That's where they live."

Baekhyun and Jeongguk kept looking through the atlas book and learning about the different places that were on the map. The map was small since the world wasn't discovered when it was made.

"Where are we?"

"I don't know. The ocean is a big place."

The ten-year-old swam back down to pick up his bag, as it was almost time for his princely duties. He was about to call for Jeongguk when flashes of light could be seen from the cave. Being the curious soul that he was, dropped everything and swam out.

"Baek, where are you going?"

"Just keep a lookout! I'll be right back."

This would be the first time that Baekhyun has swam up to the top. He was always curious but every time he tried, something would always stop him. This time though, there wasn't anything keeping him from going to see what's up there. It was his chance to finally put his curiosity at bay. It would only be for five minutes: no interactions with humans. Do not get seen.

Peaking his head from the water, wiping his hair out of his eyes. His eyes widened when it looked like the ship was bursting into flames, split in half. His instinct was to go see if there were anyone alive, even though he wasn't supposed to. Baekhyun couldn't help it, he didn't want to see anyone die. 

Swimming closer to the ship, pushing through the debris from the ship out of the way. He looked around for a couple of minutes but started to lose hope in finding someone. Then from the corner of his eyes, he saw something sinking, and he quickly went underwater. It was a human.

Baekhyun grabbed onto the human and brought them back up to the surface. He could only go so far, he was only ten. A small ten-year-old at that, so he needed to find something to put the human on. It took him a good look around before he found a piece of driftwood. It was difficult at first, but he finally put the human onto the wood.

He made sure that it was steady before gripping the edge of it. Jeongguk came up from the water and went up next to Baekhyun to look at the human too. After getting a good look they've come to realize that it was a boy.

"Is he--alive?"

Jeongguk held the human's hand up to his ear and listened for a few seconds. He couldn't hear the heartbeat that indicated that he was alive. His eyes closed before shaking his head.

"I don't hear a heartbeat."

"Wait, no, he's breathing." Baekhyun moved a piece of hair that was covering the boy's eyes. He was enthralled as he has never seen a human before in real life. He's only ever seen them in books or during his history lessons. "He's so beautiful."

"I think it's time to go."

"Not yet. We can't just leave him here."

"What if your parents find out? Or even worse your mom." Not that Jeongguk would be the one to get in trouble, but he was scared for his best friend. Queen Chaeyoung was a bit scary when she was angry, and even more when it pertained to her youngest son.

"She'll never know. What she doesn't know won't kill her."

Baekhyun continued to admire the boy, and he went to move the hair that had fallen again due to wind. The human grabbed his hand and his eyes slowly began to open. They stared at each other for a little while until shouting was heard in the distance. It was another ship.

"Time to go, gukkie!"

Baekhyun removed his hand from the boy, and he dived into the water. He stopped as soon as he was a safe distance away from the surface and looked back up. He was thrilled that he got to see a human up close and nothing happened.

"Oh, my sea turtles! We're going out in so much trouble if the queen finds out! We're going to be shark bait."

"We'll be fine! As long as we keep it a secret, nothing is going to happen."

Baekhyun went to go fiddle with the bracelet his older brother made for him when he realized it wasn't there. It must've slipped off when he got out of the grip of the boy.

"Junnie's going to kill me if he finds out I lost the bracelet."

He wasn't too pressed about it but hoped that he would see the boy again to get his bracelet back. After all, he could lie and say he misplaced it which he will, but then he'll feel bad. He just won't say anything at all and wait until he meets the boy again.

Little did he know that the human boy would become the king of the pirates.


	2. treasure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> basically, baekhyun and jeongguk go to a sunken ship and find some treasure, but then the queen won't tolerate it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to chapter one! I'm so excited to get this story on a role. Get ready for more baekhyun and jeongguk content <3

Baekhyun peaked up from the mass of a sunken ship. He really shouldn't be here, as his mom told him many times that it's dangerous. He's explored many ships that had bad faith with the ocean, and they always held amazing treasures.

"Hey, Baek, wait up," Jeongguk said out of breath from swimming too long. He may be training to become a palace guard, but long-distance swimming wasn't his thing. It might also be a fact that they traveled far from the kingdom to get to the graveyard of ships.

"come on, gukkie, hurry up."

"You know I can't swim for very long." The brunette finally made it next to the pink-haired boy. He still couldn't believe that he let himself be dragged into this, but he couldn't let the prince go by himself. Jeongguk may act like he hated these adventures they took from time to time, but it was nice to get out of the kingdom sometimes.

"Isn't it amazing?!"

The ship was bigger than the others they've explored. It looked much fancier than the common ships that were at the bottom of the ocean. from what he can remember from school, it might've been a navy ship.

"Yeah, looks awesome. Can we please go now?"

Jeongguk went to swim away but Baekhyun grabbed his arm and brought him back. There was no point in fighting, and it was partially his fault that he can't say no to him. The things he does for his best friend and vice versa.

"You're not getting out of this one." Baekhyun gave him the puppy dog eyes. He knows that works on anyone, besides his mom, but he is usually fast in getting what he wants. "Please, gukkie, I really want to go and see."

There was a moment of silence, and Jeongguk closed his eyes with a sigh.

"Fine. You're lucky that I love you."

Baekhyun let out a little laugh and swam down to the ship with Jeongguk right behind him. The windows were pretty wide, so they were able to fit perfectly fine. Inside was still in fairly good quality, which means it hasn't been in the ocean for long. That means there's more treasure to be found.

"What exactly are you looking for?"

"Maybe some more books. I'm hoping to find this thing that apparently helps you navigate where to go! I heard Junnie talking about it with papa."

The ship was pretty big, so the two decided to split up to cover more ground. They agreed that they'll meet near the window they came from. It was simple enough, look around for treasure, then go back to the kingdom as if nothing happened. Hopefully, nothing would happen cause last time they encountered a shark and that wasn't a fun experience.

Baekhyun made it up to the captain's quarters and the first thing he noticed was a bottle that looked like it had a boat in it. He quickly swam over to it, picking it up to inspect it. It was fascinating to him because how were they able to fit such a thing in there.

"Baekhyun!" The young prince was suddenly knocked into, arms hugging him close. Jeongguk was literally shaking while hiding his face in Baekhyun's shoulder. It concerned the prince because it took a lot for Jeongguk to be scared like that.

"Gukkie, what's wrong?"

"I-I saw something. It looked like a shark."

Baekhyun giggled and turned around to hug his terrified best friend. There weren't any sharks here because they swam halfway into the graveyard to get to this sip and not one shark in sight. It's no doubt that they tend to lurk around as the ocean is a home for a lot of creatures.

"It's okay, silly. There are no sharks here, promise."

The two continued to search the whole ship, now together instead of being separated. Baekhyun found a lot of stuff that could be added to his collection, and he couldn't contain his excitement. The duo started their journey back home, holding hands so no one would get left behind this time.

"Are we going to be like Yoongi and TaeTae-hyung? Holding hands?"

Jeongguk referred to their clasped hands as they made their way out of the graveyard. They've always held hands, but the trademark kind of goes to Taehyung and Yoongi because their hands are always clasped together.

"It's to make sure you don't fall behind, slowpoke."

"Hey, I'm not that slow!"

Baekhyun let out a loud laugh because everyone knew that wasn't true.

♡☆

As soon as the pair got back to the kingdom, Baekhyun's was greeted by his personal guard. Seokjin was a serious merman but there was a funny side to his guard. It was only once in a while that he got to witness that side.

"The Queen has requested your presence, young prince."

Baekhyun was either in trouble or there's an important family meeting. It was probably the first one, as he always in trouble, but he didn't do anything that his mother didn't want him to do besides going far out from the kingdom. It was also possible that he forgot something important which wouldn't be much of a surprise.

"Umm, okay, gukkie take this and wait for me at the spot. Okay?"

Jeongguk nodded his head, taking the little bag that held the stuff they found. Baekhyun gave him one last smile before following his guard towards the throne room. He was thinking of possible scenarios that could lead to his demise that would be caused by his mother. At this point, it didn't bother him when he gets in trouble because of his mom because she is a helicopter mom when it comes to him.

It didn't take long for the two to make it to the throne room where his mother and father were sitting. They were currently talking to what Baekhyun assumed was the royal advisor, so that gives a good sign that he wasn't in deep trouble.

"Ah, Baekhyun, you're back from your little journey of the sea."

Yep, he was in deep trouble. He doesn't even know how she finds out about these things. It was probably the royal advisor that was always keeping an eye, and let's just say that Baekhyun hates him with a burning passion. Some would assume that his guard was the one that told, but he promised the prince he wouldn't.

"Am I in trouble for wanting to go out of the kingdom? It's not like I went far."

Baekhyun was tired of this conversation every time he wanted to go explore, and at least he doesn't go by himself. He feels so trapped because his older brothers get to do whatever they want to but he always gets in trouble for the littlest things. He wishes that his mother would stop treating him like a child.

"You went far beyond the kingdom! The graveyard of ships is forbidden because I don't know what's lurking there. What if something happens to you and I wouldn't even know."

"But nothing happened. I don't go by myself and if something were to happen I could perfectly defend myself."

Baekhyun crossed his arms as his mother gave him a look, and he knew that look all too well. He wasn't going to give up and give in that he was in the wrong. He feels that he wasn't in the wrong because he didn't fo anything harmful to him or anyone else.

"What if some humans saw you?" Chaeyoung swam to him from her throne, and towards her youngest son. She soothingly touched his hair. "Do you think I want to see my youngest son go missing or on the end of a hook?"

"I'm seventeen years old! I'm not a child anymore. I don't need someone to watch my every move--"

"Don't use that tone with me, young man!"

"But if you just listen--"

"Not another word," the queen turned away already fed up with the conversation. Recently, they can never have a conversation without it turning into an argument. "And I never want to hear you going halfway across the ocean again, is that clear?"

Baekhyun stared at his mother for a moment before swimming away. He was never really close to his mom, he was more of a papa's boy, and now their relationship is on a thin line. He didn't understand why he was the one that can never do what makes him happy.

Little did he know that every time they argued, the queen would feel guilty for yelling at him. All she wants is what's best for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hoped you liked it! Thank you for stopping by and kudos along with comments are greatly appreciated. Have a wonderful day :) <3


	3. run away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> baekhyun just wants to see what's up in the human world, and maybe he does.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm on a roll writing this story! I'm literally so excited to see where this goes.

Baekhyun was in his cave, laying down at the bottom thinking about what just happened. He was cuddling with Jeongguk, who was the best cuddle buddy in the whole sea and was ultimately dejected about the whole thing. He didn't understand why everything was an argument between him and his mother. After it would make him feel depressed for a long time and he wouldn't speak a word to her for weeks.

"Are you okay, Baek?"

"I guess," Baekhyun snuggled closer into Jeongguk, not wanting to talk about it. His mother ruined his day, as usual since she seems to never want to see him happy. He bets the human world was better than being down here. "I just don't see things the way she does. I just don't see how a world with such wonderful things--could be bad."

Sitting up, he looked around the many things that he has collected over the years. He wanted to show his mother all these collectibles he has, but he knows she'll never understand. There are so many questions he wants to ask if he ever meets a human, but he knows that'll never happen. He doesn't know how either.

"All I want to be able to experience what dancing is. Ask them why a fire burns. How it is to walk on feet instead of flipping your fins. All these things make the world seem fun."

Baekhyun swam al, the way to the top where he kept all the books he's found. Once he found the one he was looking for, he brought it back down. It was the atlas they looked at the day they saved the human. It held so much nostalgia for that day, and he always wondered what the human was doing now. He probably will never get to meet them again, but he couldn't help but wonder.

"Don't you ever want to see what the world looks like?" Baekhyun opened the book to the page with the map. He was pretty sure that more of the world had been discovered now that it has been years. He wanted to see all of that. "Don't you ever wonder how big the world is?"

"Yeah, I do, I want to so badly. How can we do that though when we are just mermaids? Its never going to happen because it wasn't meant to be."

Baekhyun sighed and closed the book, knowing that there was no way to get what he wants most in this world. He put the book down and was staring up until he heard a crash. The two friends looked over to see Taehyung trying to get out of some wires that were hanging.

"TaeTae-hyung! What are you doing here?"

"Mom sent me to follow you, and so I did." Taehyung finally got out of the bunch of wires that he didn't even know existed. Even though he was the closest to Baekhyun out of all their brothers, he didn’t know about his little secret. 

“Are you going to tell mom?” Baekhyun looked sad, and he knows that Taehyung couldn’t help but feel guilty making his bother cry. It would break his heart in a million pieces, and he hated it when his brother and mother would fight. “Please don’t tell her. This is the only thing that makes me happy in this place.” 

“I won’t, B. Promise. What is all this stuff?” 

“It’s all human treasure I found!” Baekhyun was smiling again, happy that his brother was interested in his cove of treasure. It was better to have three than two to have talked about what fascinates him about the human world. “I’ve collected these over the years.” 

“It’s amazing. How did you get all this stuff here?” 

“With gukkie’s help. He always goes on these things with me.” 

They stayed in the cove for a while until it was time to go back to the kingdom. They always had family dinner, and most it Baekhyun wouldn’t y’all because he hated these things. It was useless when Baekhyun practically hated being around his mother, and he wonders if there was a time where they were close. He only ever remembers is being with his father all the time when he was young. It didn't matter anyway because what's done is done. Now they were talking about royal stuff, which Baekhyun no part of because he could care less about the kingdom or what happens to it. 

"I'm thinking it's time for all of you to find someone." The Queen always reminded her children that even if they weren't going to inherit the throne, her younger two, that they could inherit something worth wild. Baekhyun didn't find any other merperson attractive, besides maybe Jeongguk, but the Queen wouldn't allow it. Even if his mother made him marry someone, his best friend would be the first person he would choose whether or not she would accept it. "I don't want my babies to be alone forever." 

Baekhyun rolled his eyes, knowing where this conversation was going, and he wasn't going to stay for it. Ever since he's turned sixteen, his mom has tried to find him someone that was about his age to get married to when he was old enough. No matter how many times he tells her that he doesn't need anyone boss his life around because she does that enough for one lifetime. There wasn't anyone appealing to him anyway, and he'd rather marry Jeongguk than be with someone he didn't even know. 

"Some of us are going to be fine, mother. Not all of us are made to settle down." 

"We all know, Baekhyun. You rather go find some useless treasure then listen to what I have to say." Baekhyun dropped his fork, not believing what he just heard. That could only mean that someone had told her, and he looked at his brothers who shook their head no. It couldn't have been Jeongguk cause even though he was a softy and can't lie to anyone, he would never tell their little secret. He also knew it wasn't Seokjin because he promised to never tell. "You could only hide it for so long. It was only a matter of time before I found out." 

"H-how--Who told you?" 

"It doesn't matter where I heard it from. All I know is that you're going to stop before I have to handle it myself." 

"Handle it yourself?" Baekhyun was at his last straw, and he was tired of living in such misery. No matter how many times he tries to explain that he was curious about the human world, and nothing else. He can never have what he wanted but everyone else could, and he was fed up with it. "Are you going to take that from me too? Just like everything else I like. I'm surprised you haven't made me stop being friends with gukkie." 

"I'm going to do what I have to do to make you listen to me, and if it's destroying your treasure then so be it. I've told you that going to explore the ocean is dangerous! And no matter how many times I tell you you continue to do it!" 

"Because there's nothing else that makes me happy! All you ever do is tell me what I can and can't do. Anything I take interest in, you take it away. Now you want me to potentially marry someone?" Baekhyun was infuriated that his mom always has to start an argument with him when he didn't even say anything rude. He was tired of it and this was the last time he would take it. "Why can't you just let me be happy?" 

"You think me disciplining you makes me happy?" 

"Then stop," Baekhyun pleaded hoping that this would be able to convince her that he's old enough to make decisions on his own. "All I want to be is happy. What will it take for me to just be happy?" 

It was silent for a moment, and that could mean one of two things: that the argument was over or it was going to get more intense and nobody wanted that. Both mother and son never seem to get along even if it were to save their life, it just wouldn't happen. It kind of broke the family apart because they want to be there for each other, but the two of them are causing them to choose a side. A decision that they didn't want to make. 

"Then leave." The Queen said with a straight face, and everyone in the room turned to look at her. Everyone was shocked, to say the least because the Queen loved her sons dearly. They never thought that one day she would tell her most beloved son to just pack up and leave. "If you're not happy here, then leave where it'll make you happy."

"Just like that, huh?" Getting up out of his chair, completely forgetting about the delicious dinner. The thing that broke his heart was neither his brothers or father stood up for him, just letting his mother kicked him out of the kingdom, leaving him to fend for himself out in the open sea. "Is that how you feel? Do you-do you even love me?" 

"No, that's not what I meant--Baekhyun." Without wanting to hear another word, the young prince swam out of the dining room to the front gates. Everything he was feeling suddenly came rushing in, causing him to burst out into tears. He couldn't believe that she told him to leave, no matter how much they argued he still loved her. That was his mother: the one that brought him in the world, took care of him, and no matter how protective she was. He doesn't know if he'll ever forgive her. 

\------------ 

After sitting there, crying, he came up with an idea. He would disappear for good. Out of the sea. If that what's she wants then that's what she'll get. It didn't take him long to find where Jeongguk was since he was always in the palace garden when he wasn't doing his apprenticeship. Baekhyun told him the whole story, seeing the look on his face when he told him to take him to the sorcerer that could help him. 

"Are you sure this is what you want, B? What if you change your mind after it happens." 

"I won't, gukkie. This will be good for me, and I won't have to worry about anything that I have to down here." 

The sorcerer that everyone goes to when they need answers was on the outskirts of the kingdom, and Baekhyun was quite excited to finally meet him. He's heard some good things from other people, and how their problems were solved just by a flick of a wand, or potion, or a spell. It depends on what you want. Knocking on the door, Jeongguk hiding behind Baekhyun, and they waited a few seconds for the door to open. 

"How can I help you today?" a man that had purple hair and was quite tall for a merman. He didn't look like a sorcerer that they have seen in the history books they read in school. He looked quite nice, someone that couldn't hurt a soul. It was a nice sign that he wouldn't be selling his soul to get something he wanted. 

"Hello, I was hoping that you could help me become human." Baekhyun smiled, trying to seem convincing as possible, and the man raised his eyebrows in surprise. It wasn't often that someone comes to his cave, and asks to become a human. Most merpeople loved who they are and could care less about the human world. "Please?"

The sorcerer really couldn't deny the wishes of his costumer, so he let them in his cave. It wasn't dark like some people in the palace has told him. It was quite welcoming with a lot of potted plants around the whole cave with good lighting shining in the right places. 

"Human, you say? You want to become human?" 

"Yeah--I want not to be here anymore. I need a change of scenery." 

The sorcerer, who they've come to know as Namjoon, hummed in acknowledgment. He was going through his self that had what looked like potions until he pulled a couple out, along with getting a book out as well. He was flipping through the pages, trying to find the right spell that he needed for this to work. 

"You know that all you have to do is go up to land and give it a few minutes your tail will turn into legs, but since you want to stay up there I can give you a potion that'll keep you human for about a year." 

"It was that easy the whole time?" Baekhyun was surprised, to say the least, but it wasn't that shocking as he knows what happened to the first king. It could've made his whole life easier, but that seemed to not be the case. Namjoon dropped the potions into a bowl before chanting some unknown words, making the bowl go up into flames. Jeongguk was still behind Baekhyun, scared that the sorcerer was evil. 

"Alright the last step, solve this: Wash it and it isn't clean. Don't wash it and it's clean. What am I?" 

Baekhyun thought for a moment, thinking about what floats around as things do in the water, but nothing was coming to him. He wasn't a riddle master, never was and never will be. Jeongguk, on the other hand, was great at solving them. He turned around to look at his best friend, silently pleading for him to solve it. 

"Water. The answer id water." 

After the riddle was solved, more flashing lights occurred, and it happened for a couple of seconds until it stopped. A bottle appeared that held some type of potion, and the sorcerer gave the young prince the bottle. Baekhyun couldn't believe that this is actually happening, his ultimate dream was finally coming true. 

"The potion will keep you human fr a year, just to see how you like it. If you do then we'll make it permanent, and if not then you'll turn back into a mermaid. Got it?" 

Baekhyun nodded and the sorcerer gave the duo a few more instructions before it was time. Time to turn into a human. Baekhyun was finally excited to get what he wanted, so he drank the potion. It immediately started to turn his tail into legs, and then he had a whole outfit on. He would've been more excited if he wasn't sleepy all of a sudden. 

Jeongguk grabbed a piece of wood the sorcerer had out, grabbed his best friend, and headed up to the surface. Being a bigger and stronger person, Jeongguk was able to make the piece of wood steady before placing Baekhyun onto it. He was going to stay there until either a ship comes or he'll take him to shore. He wasn't going to abandon him, not when he needed him the most. 

"Gukkie, promise that you won't tell where--I am, okay? I'm still mad at them, so--promise." 

"Promise, Baek, this will be our little secret." 

Baekhyun hummed in understanding before falling asleep, the potion making him sleepy, but he was in and out of it. It seemed hours of the duo floating in the water until Jeongguk heard voices in the background causing him to look up. It was a ship.

"Take this, B. It'll keep us in touch and I'll visit if I can. Good luck."

Jeongguk gave Baekhyun a kiss on the cheek before diving into the water. The pink-haired boy was still kind of in and out of it, so he didn't notice being taken out the water. The last thing he saw was a sail going down before his eyes finally closed.

Baekhyun was finally human. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was a lot of words but it was worth it! Now it's time for the juicy stuff to begin. Again thank you for reading please leave a comment uwu <3


	4. if it's a dream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> baekhyun finally has what he wants, meets new people, but who's the mysterious captain they keep on mentioning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> have you noticed what I've been going with each title story? 
> 
> but I'm literally on a roll with this, and it's about to get juicier from now on.

Opening his eyes, Baekhyun looked around where he was, eyesight still kinda blurry. He rubbed his eyes, trying to get his vision to be more focused, and soon enough he was able to see perfectly. He was in a room with multiple beds, and there was a table with what looked like medical supplies. It took him a minute to realize that he wasn't underwater, but on a bed. He pulled the blankets away and his eyes widened in disbelief. 

"I can't believe it worked." Baekhyun looked at his legs, still in shock that it wasn't his tail like he's so used to seeing. He let out a giggle while he pulled them closer then stretched them back out, wiggling his toes in the process. He was just fascinated that after years of waiting, he finally could become a human, even though he could've done it a long time ago. "This is amazing!" 

His giggling stop once the door opened, and a black-haired male came into the room with even more supplies. He didn't realize that Baekyun was awake until he turned around and almost jumped out of his skin. The young prince tilted his head, concerned about why the human was clutching onto his shirt where the heart was, but he just left it be. Humans can be weird, he thought, but they create a lot of beautiful things. He waited patiently for the human to calm down before asking questions because he honestly didn't know where he was, or what he was going to do. The human grabbed the chair and sat down next to the bed, fiddling with his fingers until he looked up at Baekhyun, who is a nice person, smiled. 

"Are you feeling better? You were kind of out of it when we picked you up." 

"I'm alright. Where am I?" 

"You're on The Black Neptune." Baekhyun looked at the human with wide eyes. During his lessons about famous pirates, he heard about this ship and it well-known throughout the whole ocean. Every mermaid has been told to avoid said ship as it has the reputation for not sparing a soul that happens to aboard the ship. Knowing that rumor made the young prince have a mini breakdown. He just became human and now that might come to an end within twelve hours. The human must of sense his distress because he immediately tried to calm him down. "No, it's okay! The captain is very nice, he's the one that brought you here. You're safe with us." 

Baekhyun seemed to calm down after that and fiddled with the hem of his shirt. He didn't know how to interact with a human or hold a conversation with anyone besides Jeongguk, who wasn't here with him. That realization made him upset, Jeongguk was his rock. His soulmate, and now he was all alone in a world that he didn't know very well. The human noticed that he was upset because he tried to cheer him up with some questions. 

"What's your name? I'm Kyungsoo and I'm the healer."

"Oh, um, I'm Baekhyun the--" He didn't know whether or not to tell him where he came from, or what he was in reality. He felt like the humans would be more lenient about this whole thing. He was hoping that they'll point him in the right direction, and teach him skills that humans needed to survive on dry land. He said it before he could think of saying something else, and he regretted it immediately. "I-I'm a mermaid."

Kyungsoo gave him a shocked look, not completely believing that he was a mermaid, but that would explain the pink hair. He did read somewhere that mermaids have all different hair colors; ranging from red to purple. There was also a book that explained that mermaids had certain powers, mostly water manipulation, but there were some mermaids that had other powers. There was slim to none that had powers that didn't include water, but some had the power of love, ice, earth, and many more. Baekhyun didn't exactly know what his power was because his mother forbade powers from ever being used. Usually, the queen or king would have all the powers and half of those powers would be passed on to their children, and each set of powers was different. He knows that Taehyung had the power of water along with speed, which came in handy since he was the commander of the royal guard while he wasn't doing his princely duties. Junmyeon, on the other hand, had the power of mind control and had enhanced hearing, which would be helpful for the next mermaid king. He would acquire all the powers once he was crowned, but those are the ones he has until that day.

"I read that mermaids have special powers that only they have, and if they are royalty they acquire two from their parents." Kyungsoo explained, not seeing the prince's shocked face as he continued to explain the mermaid world than he did. Maybe it was his lack of paying attention in school when it was most likely that he was taught all of this but it was lack of caring that he missed all of this. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?" 

"Nothing. It's just you know more about this than me. It's true though what you said, but I don't know what my powers are since I was never allowed to use them." 

"Wait! Wait! Wait! Are you telling me that you're royalty? Like you're a prince or something like that?" 

"Y-y-yeah. I guess you could say that. It's not that big of a deal." 

"Of course it is! What if the queen comes for everyone once she knows you're missing." 

"I don't think you have much to worry about." Baekhyun fiddled with the edge of the blanket, trying to calm his nerves. He wasn't sure how long he was gone for or how long ago he had his fight with his mother. He couldn't help but wonder if his mother was looking for him, or was she happy that she was able to get rid of him. His mind wandered to his father and his older brothers, and he couldn't help but feel bad for leaving them. He was going to be happier in the human world than he was down under the sea. He decided that he wasn't going to let those thoughts crowd his mind. "She's the one that told me to leave and so I did. I think you're okay." 

"Oh, well let me show you around." 

After Baekhyun got used to walking, they exited the medic room and immediately out in the open, where multiple people were walking around and working on ropes that he didn't know did. He met new people, who he knows they'll be friends, but the one that reminds him of Jeongguk was Sehun. He didn't know what it was but it made him think of his best friend, and now he missed his best friend. He hoped that soon they'll be able to communicate somehow without anyone knowing where he was. He's a mermaid so he's sure that he can use some sort of magic to talk to Jeongguk. 

"This is the kitchen, well it's lacking, but it's one of the finest of the sea." Baekhyun looked around and it was a pretty kitchen, compared to the one that was in the palace wasn't as good, but it was close to that level. When he had his free time he enjoyed cooking, it got his mind off everything, and that's what he properly do here if it was allowed. He could cook some good things that maybe he wouldn't be able to do while he was in the sea. 

"Is it okay if I cook down here sometime?" 

Kyungsoo gave him a look that read confusion all over. "How do you cook with fire when you--live underwater?" 

"It's a secret." 

Soon enough they made it back to the upper deck and what he saw was pretty scary. He heard about how most ships have canons, swords, and even guns, but that's beside the point. He looked around the ship and he looked up at the sky, thinking that he found out his happiness except that Jeongguk isn't here with him. Then, it hit him, this was the ship that took something sacred to mermaids. If it came into the wrong hands it could do damage to everyone in the vicinity of said object, and he even told someone that he was a mermaid. He wasn't going to live any longer, as that object had a lot of history with his kingdom, and his mother always warned him about it. 

It was in a safe that was heavily guarded, no one was able to get in, and that was until another mermaid stole it and tried to escape with eh object in hand. In the end, they got killed and the object wasn't ever to be found again. Word spread that a certain ship held onto it until they figured out what it did and as soon as they did they would use it. What it did, Baekhyun didn't know for sure because it was forbidden to even mention said object. All he knows is that it could be deadly and he wasn't about to die. 

Baekhyun backed away from Kyungsoo, finding it hard to breathe at the moment, and his new friend turned to give him a worried look. He asked if he was okay but the young prince could only shake his head while backing away. He didn't make it far because he bumped into something, well more like someone, and said person gently held onto his arms. He hoped they would not be too mad at him, but he wasn't too worried about it because there were other things that he needed to worry about, like his life for example. 

"You should watch where you're going, sweetheart." 

Baekhyun was either going to die from embarrassment or the historic object. He rather take the object than embarrassment because he soon felt his cheeks flare up with red. The person had a deep voice and Baekhyun didn't know this until now, but he has a thing for deep voices. Yeah, he was going shrivel up with embarrassment. 


	5. magic island

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> baekhyun meets chanyeol and their meeting wasn't the best, but what if you lose everything you've ever known.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> merry late christmas! thank you for reading this far in, now it's the moment we all have been waiting for! the happy couple meeting for the first time. I hope you enjoy

Quickly turning around, almost knocking Kyungsoo over, trying to get away from the voice that was making his heart flutter. He looked the person up and down, and at first glance, he didn't seem to be evil, maybe soft even. That thought went down the drain as the two made eye contact, and Baekhyun couldn't help but blush. He couldn't help it, but the boy was pretty, and maybe a year or two older than him. He also reminded Baekhyun of someone he has met before, but couldn't quite place where from. 

"I-I'm sorry." 

"It's fine, sweetheart. Don't fret about it, no hard feelings." 

Baekhyun couldn't keep his blush under control, so here he was a blushing mess right now. He didn't know that humans were this outgoing, making him blush and all. The boy and Kyungsoo started to converse, leaving the young prince in his thoughts. From what he got from the conversation was that they were heading to a port soon, whatever that meant, and that the boy was the captain of the ship. That made Baekhyun come out of his thoughts and looked back at the two humans who were already looking at him. He quickly looked away and looked around again, not enjoying the amount of attention he was receiving. 

"Teach him some medical stuff, it'll be good for you to have some helping hands. He'll be under your supervision when we get to where we're going, so don't lose him. 

"Yes, captain." 

Then the two turned to look at the prince, who was still looking everywhere but them and the two split ways, but not without Chanyeol saying "bye sweetheart". As soon as he left back to wherever he came from, Kyungsoo led him back to where the medic room was. He was glad that he would have something to do than sit around and stare at the blank walls all day. He was a curious bean, and even though he knew the boy was captain, he was still curious about who he was. 

"Who were you talking to earlier?" 

"Oh, that's Chanyeol. He's our captain." That would make a lot of sense, from the different outfit than the rest of the crew, and he knew that much from the earlier conversation. Even though he was on the ship that held the object at least everyone seemed to be nice, but he wasn't going to hold onto that hope. He hasn't even been here for that long to know anyone that well to judge whether or not they were decent humans. "He's also the Pirate King."

"Wait. Really?" 

"Yeah but I wouldn't worry too much about it. Anyway, let's talk about how to bandage a wound properly." 

Baekhyun sat in the medic room, learning about all the medical stuff that Kyungsoo knows, and this has been going on for hours. There were a lot of things he needed to know since most of the time the crew got injured from pirating other boats or even battling another ship. Kyungsoo also said that he wouldn't have to fight anyone, but someone would teach him anyway how to wield a sword and shoot a gun. The sun started to set, day turning into night, and they would have to continue the rest tomorrow. Baekhyun was a fast learner so the training didn't take that long, but there was still stuff for him to know. 

Kyungsoo showed the room that Baekhyun would be staying in while he was on the ship, he was guessing that medics get special treatment because from what he understood everyone besides the captain slept below deck. It was nice not having to know even more people, five was enough for one day. After wishing each other goodnight, Baekhun immediately flopped on the bed, snuggling into the blankets, letting out a sigh of contentment. He has never felt a soft bed and after covering up with blankets, he immediately went into dreamland. 

\--

Morning came faster than the Baekhyun expected, instead of waking up immediately he rolled over away from the window to continue sleeping. He got to sleep for an extra five minutes before the door opened and a voice was calling his name. The young prince groaned, trying to get away from the hands that were shaking him. He just wanted to sleep that's all he wanted. 

"Baekhyun! It's time to get up." Kyungsoo kept shaking him until his patience was wearing thin. He grabbed the blanket and ripped it away from the sleeping prince, not caring about the complaining noises he was getting from the sleepyhead. Kyungsoo rolled the blanket up and put it at the end of the bed, then looking at Baekhyun, his face turned from frustrated to confusion. "Baekhyun, what happened to your hair?" 

"What do you mean? My hair hasn't changed color overnight, I'm not the magical being on this ship. That's you." 

"I'm serious! Just look for yourself." 

Baekhyun's hair turned from pink to black overnight. Kyungsoo watched as the young prince walked, more like stumbled towards the vanity on the other side of the room. It was quiet for a minute, the tension in the room was getting heavy. The anticipation of knowing. The medic didn't know exactly how the mermaid prince got human legs and didn't turn into a mermaid once he hits a tub of water, but frankly, he didn't want to know. 

"As I said, Soo, it didn't change. It's always been black but sometimes I wish it was lighter cause the sun doesn't help." Baekhyun ruffled his hair and decided that he must get up and be apart of society, more like piracy, but almost the same thing. He grabbed the arm of his friend, not realizing that he was frozen with shock, and walked him out of his room. "I'll meet you in the medic room once I'm done. I'm hoping to finish those lessons today!" 

"Um, yeah, but once you're done you can help Jongdae in the kitchen. I have something to do." 

"Okay! See you later Soo." Baekhyun closed the door and walked over to the seat that was by the window. He sat there for a couple of minutes, daydreaming about random stuff. He did feel a little different than yesterday but he doesn't remember much of yesterday besides meeting new people and learning some medical stuff. He also remembers Jeongguk as his best friend who's not currently on the ship, and he doesn't particularly know much about humans and what they do. This all was confusing for him because if he knew nothing about humans then where did he come from? Was he recused or did he come here by choice? All these questions needed answers. For the time being, he'll let it go because it's making his head hurt thinking about it. 

After taking the time to get ready for the day, he made his way out of the medic hall to the deck. It was bustling with life already and it was mid-morning, too early for this kind of activity. Baekhyun took a big breath of fresh air, loving how there was a slight breeze today. His tranquil moment was ruined when a voice interrupted his calming moment, and he knew exactly what that voice was and who it belonged to. Cue the uncontrollable blushing. 

"Looks like sleeping beauty decided to wake up." 

"Have you been s-standing there long?" 

No, sweetheart, Kyungsoo asked me to make sure you woke up since you are the youngest of us here." 

Baekhyun was a little confused. Was he being indirectly being called a child when he isn't? Now that made the young prince frown in annoyance because he was far from being a child. Yes, he's seventeen but it's only a few months before he turned eighteen, and then just maybe they'll start to not see him as a little kid that needed protection all the time. Even if he didn't remember a single thing before yesterday, he had a feeling that he was treated like a fragile flower all the time. 

"I can handle myself perfectly fine. I don't need a mister scary pirate to watch over me. See, I'm in one piece and have been for the past seventeen years." 

"Sure. Whatever you say, darling. That still doesn't change the fact that you're the youngest and you need the most protection." 

"I--" Baekhyun was interrupted when a body collided with his, bring him into a suffocating hug. He didn't realize that humans were overly touchy, but he didn't particularly mind. It could one of four people that decided that it would be nice to attack him this early in the morning. He slightly turned his head and it was Jongin, who was also one of his favorite people even though they met yesterday. 

"Morning, Nini. Why are you so happy this early in the morning?"

"Nothing! I'm just looking for Kyungsoo, but since I can't find him so let's go to breakfast together!" 

"Bye, hyung!" Both Baekhyunand Jongin said before walking away towards the kitchen, trying to get the most portions because if you're late then you don't get a full meal until lunch. It was sad but that's the way life worked when you were on a ship with around forty people, food was a sacred thing that most people would kill for. To avoid all that might as well be the first there, and get the proper amount. 

"So, what were you and captain talking about?" 

"Nothing important." 

"Uh huh, then why are you blushing?" 

"I-I'm not! It's just a little hot outside." 

The teasing didn't stop there because Jongin even told Jongdae, who was like an older brother, and he couldn't help but to tease him too. It didn't stop there because soon Kyungsoo and Sehun were told, and it brought, even more, teasing. The young prince was embarrassed by his new friends, but he knows that one day he'll get them back, it's only a matter of time. He's even taken the measure of avoiding Chanyeol, which was difficult because it's a ship and there's only so many places to go. He'll do his best to not bump into the said person because for some reason he gets all fluttery and stuttery, and just imagine being alone. 

Cue the blushing. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I just realized that Baekhyun blushes a lot but that will soon change 👀 just wait.
> 
> Thank you for reading! I really appreciate it ❤️


	6. alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> finally being able to do what baekhyun's always wanted was fun, until it turned bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm like days late but happy new year!! I can't believe it's 2020 already 🎉

It's been a week since Baekhyun has been on the ship, and it has had its ups and downs. It was mostly between Chanyeol and himself because they consistently bicker, but it also didn't help that all of a sudden pirate has become cold towards the young prince. Yes, they bicker a lot and they might say things they don't mean to each other. Yes, Baekhyun might have the tiniest crush on Chanyeol but didn't expect to get this cold silent treatment. He didn't even get the iconic "sweetheart" or "darling" and many other pet names he was called. At the time he didn't know that he loved being called those names, which in the end caused him to blush, but now it felt weird to be addressed by his first name.

Baekhyun was currently working in the kitchen, as Chanyeol instructed him, and he was helping Jongdae with dinner. He had seen what dinner looked like with the forty other people on this ship. To put it simply chaos broke out, especially with everyone at the table, as fights would break out over the most ridiculous things. Baekhyun sat near Kyungsoo, who sits near Jongin, and who sits near Chanyeol. He was kind of glad that he wasn't in the middle of the fight unlike other people, but what amazes him the most is how unbothered Chanyeol to the chaos. 

Dinner was almost done when Sehun came into the kitchen with two swords. "Want to learn how to sword fight?"

Now here they were, at a part of the ship that wasn't crowded, fighting with fake swords. Baekhyun found it funny how the most feared ship has fake wooden swords. When he asked Sehun about it, he simply said that it was for people who didn't know how to fight and it's a learning tool. He was the prime example of someone that needed sword training, and he didn't even know that it was against Chanyeol's orders. Baekhyun should've expected it since it's well known that Sehun doesn't listen to anything the older has to say. It was surprising how they were so close, but the world works in weird ways.

The training was going well, Sehun going easy on him until the young prince told him to raise the intensity. He was currently blocking an attack while moving backward, in the process bumping into someone. Said, person caught him by his waist, and oddly it felt familiar as if he's been in this position before. Baekhyun looked up a little and to find out that it was Chanyeol again, and he couldn't help but shrink a little from the intense stare he was getting.

"I thought it was clear that sweetheart here wasn't learning how to sword fight yet."

"But, Chanyeol, he can't be helpless forever!"

Silence took over the three for a moment, only the sounds of the ocean being the background, Baekhyun felt the grip on his waist tighten before Chanyeol let go. The young prince didn't want to make it seem that he was scared of the pirate, but he couldn't help but scoot behind Sehun as a protective shield. No one else but him noticed the dejected look that the pirate had, but it changed within a few seconds.

"Fine, but he's your responsibility. After training with Kyungsoo, you'll give lessons to him and I want a report of progress since you believe that sweetheart shouldn't be so defenseless."

"Really? Thank you for giving me this opportunity, hyung!" Sehun then continued to hug Chanyeol, which left both pirate and mermaid shocked from the sudden action. It seemed that all of what Chanyeol said went in one ear and out the other. "I won't let you down! You can count on me."

Chanyeol let out a low hum before walking away. All Baekhyun could think about was the fact that he was called sweetheart, and that made his heart go all over the place. He thought that the pet names have come to an end, but his hope has been restored. It also didn't help that when he was being held his heart was beating an erratic pace, blush becoming evident on his cheeks. He couldn't help it, but he has fallen even more in love with the handsome pirate.

"Okay! Let's continue your lesson!"

\------

In about two days they finally reached their destination, it was some famous port that Baekhyun didn't remember. He was instructed to stay with Kyungsoo, but being the curious soul he is lost him within an hour of being on the island. They were in the market looking for supplies, and the young prince saw something that reminded him of the sea, for some reason he couldn't remember at the moment. It was after he bought it that he realized that he had lost both Kyungsoo and Jongin in the big crowd of people. Now he wasn't particularly scared until he realized that he didn't remember which was the trio came from.

Baekhyun didn't understand why he was forgetting everything lately, he doesn't have short-term memory loss, or at least he assumes he doesn't. he hasn't remembered anything before a couple of days ago, like how he got onto the ship in the first place, or where did he come from. All that was wiped away and it hurt his head whenever he tried to think about it. The young prince is sure that he'll remember soon, hopefully.

Being lost in a crowded place wouldn't be so bad if you remembered which was you came from, but that wasn't the case for the mermaid. He could wait until Kyungsoo realizes that he's missing and come back to the place that they last saw each other, but Baekhyun thought otherwise. He thought that it would be wise to go try and find the boat himself because how hard was it to find a boat that was different from the others in many ways. The young prince took many roads and turns until he got stuck at a dead-end, which meant that he had to retract and go again.

Turning around, there a group standing in front of him. There were three girls and two boys and telling from the way they were dressed; they were thugs. Chanyeol had told him about this earlier, which he drowned out and continued to crush on the pirate. He was just glad that he was talking to him again because it's been a long week without the two of them communicating. 

"So," started one of the girls, twirling a dagger. "Give us the rest of your coins, pretty boy." 

Baekhyun stood there for a quick minute, calculating how he would get out of this situation. There were five of them and one of him. He could just hand them the rest of his money, but he still had things to buy the next time they went on land. He then remembered that Kyungsoo gave him a bag of sand if he were to ever get into a situation like this. If he remembered correctly all he had to was open it and swing it so the sand would land in their eyes, which would give him time to run away. It seemed that he was taking too long for the thugs, and all of them stepped forward. Without a second thought, he threw the sand and ran away, almost bumping into one of them.

Turning every corner that he already passed, he managed to make it back to the crowd, which caused him to bump into a couple of people. He continued to run until he saw the familiar black hair, and without thinking, he embraced the person he thought it was. He didn't care that he could've been wrong, that's beside the point, he could recognize Chanyeol out of the crowd in an instant because of how much he admires him from afar. 

"You okay, sweetheart?"

Baekhyun shook his head.

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

Another shake.

"C-an---Can I just hug you for a moment? I-I just need to calm down for a minute."

It was silent between the two of them for a moment. It seemed that Chanyeol was contemplating whether or not to hug the mermaid back, but in the end, he did. He might have the slightest crush on the young prince, but he doesn't outwardly show it. They weren't on the best of terms as it is, so he knew this infatuation for Baekhyun would pass soon, hopefully. For the time being, he hugged the mermaid back, and let Baekhyun use him as a comfort human.

"Sure, take as long as you need, darling." 

Baekhyun was surprised that they were actually hugging, considering their disposition at the moment, but he wasn't going to ruin it. It felt nice to be hugged by another human, especially a human he liked. He hoped that the thugs went away, or found someone else to terrorize. He couldn't believe that he got away if it weren't Kyungsoo and his magic sand. He guessed that luck was on his side for once, but he doesn't want to dwell on it since he was now safe and he would never see them again.

Hopefully, they never run into them again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi! I haven't updated in so long and I'm sorry but I've been busy with school and now that I have a job I don't have a lot of time on my hands. I'm hoping to write more frequently cause now I have a solid idea!
> 
> Thank you for reading and I purple you 💜

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading and I hope you'll stay until the very end and I'll add tags as I go on.


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